Sunday 10 March 2013

Football Tournament!

We've been running a football tournament in our last few lessons with the grade 8s and 9s at Abu Dis Boys in an attempt to channel their endless energy and enthusiasm. We hoped they would find football fun and interesting and we were thrilled at the results. We spent the first lesson letting the boys choose teams from a selection of forty player cards, and going through football-related vocabulary. Today was match day!

The students and teachers were all suitably impressed by our AMAZING football pitch:

Our football pitch with two teams of player cards- if you land on a red squares you draw a 'Chance' card

We started with the grade 9s, who were initially skeptical, especially when they realized our homemade effort was more about luck than skill, but soon they were yelling in frustration and throwing their hands up like real football players when the 'goal card' they drew said the goal keeper had saved the ball, and doing celebrations worthy of Amfield or Old Traford when they scored a goal!

The Grade 9s getting competitive!


We only managed one match before the lesson ended, although our students almost refused to leave! Team A scored 2 goals against Team B. In the next lesson Team C will play Team D and then the winners will play each other for the cup- I mean, teapot of sweets.

The grade 8s managed to play an entire tournament. Team A suffered a crushing defeat against Team B owing to an unfortunate tendency to draw cards telling them they had injured the other player in a tackle and given the other team a penalty, failed to score, and lost the ball...

The Grade 8s watching Team A play Team B

A snippet of the Team A vs Team B match 


Team C and D played a more balanced game, but Team D won and went on to play an exciting final game against Team B. For most of the game it looked like Team B were going to be our trophy winners but Team D snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the last few minutes of the game in a nail-biting finale which resulted in a 2-1 scoreline.

In the lesson after the tournament we will brainstorm words about great footballers and great teams. We will then ask them to write something about a favorite player or a team they support.




Wednesday 6 March 2013

Poems

Some of the Grade 8's from Abu Dis boys school have been coming to Dar Assadaqa on Saturdays  to attend our morning English club, especially when there has been teacher strikes and they have been unable to attend school.

Last week some of them wrote poems relating to their situations and how they feel:


It's up to you,
One song can spark a moment
One tree can start a forest
One smile begins a friendship
One touch can show you care
One step must start a journey
One candle wipes out darkness
One life can make the difference
You see, it's up to you.

            ---

I can't go everywhere
If I want go to Jerusalem
I can't...
If I want to think about the future
I can't...
If I want healthcare
I can't...
But...
In the end I have
good parents
good friends
good English teachers
good brothers
and I don't have to worry about life because
Inshallah
I will be in heaven